Minutes: W-1168 Annual Meeting ‘ Seed Biology, Technology and Ecology’
January 15-17, 2004
University of California, Davis
Thursday, January 15, 2004
W-1168 members gathered at Café California at 6:00 p.m. for informal discussions followed by
dinner.
Friday, January 16, 2004
General Meeting
The group met in the Plant Reproductive Biology Bldg., UC Davis at 8:30 am. Committee
members attending were: Kent Bradford (University of California), Daniel Cantliffe (University
of Florida), Marc Cohn (Louisiana State University), Allen Knapp (Iowa State University), Alan
Taylor (Cornell University-Geneva), Ralph Obendorf (Cornell University-Ithaca), Bruce Downie
(University of Kentucky), Miller McDonald (Ohio State University), Hiro Nonogaki (Oregon
State University), Mitch McGrath (USDA-ARS, East Lansing, MI), Paul Beuselinck (USDAARS, Columbia, MO), and Daniel Leskovar (Texas A&M University).
Alan Taylor, Chairman of W-1168 welcomed the group, followed by general introductions of
members. He introduced Daniel Leskovar as secretary, following by the approval of minutes
recorded by Harrison Hughes at the Lexington, KY, meeting, held in January 16-18, 2003. Kent
Bradford and Miller McDonald were appointed for the nomination committee of the new
secretary-elect.
The meeting proceeded with discussions about the next meeting site and new members. It was
indicated that Harrison Hughes, offered hosting the 2005 meeting at Colorado State University.
The committee discussed potential new members based on areas of expertise, discipline, state
and institution. Alan Taylor mentioned Ron Walcott (University of Georgia), Lindsey du Toit
(Washington State University), and the return of former member Phil Allen (Brigham Young
University). Kent Bradford mentioned David Still (California State Polytechnic University Pomona). Mitch McGrath mentioned John Ohlrogge (Michigan State University) in the area of
engineering seeds for fatty acids.
Alan Taylor gave a report for the Administrative Advisor. He noted that Richard Heimsch will
retire and will be replaced by Paul Rasmussen (Utah State University). Members of the rewrite
committee Alan Taylor (Chair), Marc Cohn, and Kent Bradford discussed the re-write of the
project. They indicated that the project rewrite was well organized, and that it was a smooth
transition from its preparation to final acceptance. A round of applause acknowledged the
committee’s effort.
Ralph Obendorf and Kent Bradford gave an update of the International Society of Seed Science
(ISSS). Ralph noted that the society is composed of about 150 members, and holding steady.
Most communication is done via e-mail. The society has three board members chartered in the
U.K., but about 28% of their members are involved in three committees, one for site selection
and two for regional meetings and programs. He then discussed the next ISSS meetings to be
held in May 2005, Brisbane, Australia. He also noted that ISSS endorses other seed related
meetings, e.g. Molecular Aspects of Germination and Dormancy to be held in Wageningen, The
Netherlands, during May 2004, and Desiccation workshops held in South Africa.
Alan Taylor noted that the new project has the number W-1168, replacing the old W-168. He
then passed out the minutes of the 2003 Kentucky minutes. He also requested a motion that
minutes and short annual reports to be completed within 60 days of the meeting. The motions
were seconded and passed unanimously.
It was recognized that Alan Taylor (New York-Geneva) received the 2003 Seed Science Award
by the Crop Science Society of America in November. Kent Bradford (California) received the
2002 Seed Science Award by the Crop Science Society of America.
Alan Taylor, Chair, began a discussion about W-1168 hosting a Seed Biology Conference.
Topics included need for another meeting, level, timing, and location. Ralph Obendorf pointed
out that the previous conference held in Fort Collins meeting was not represented by
international seed people. Mitch McGrath questioned if there would be a problem to become
more international, considering that W-168 is a USDA project. Paul Beuselinck mentioned that
he participates in W-1414 project, with participants from Canada. The group considered that the
meeting should be held in 2006 or 2007, since 2008 is going to be year for the project re-write.
Kent Bradford and Ralph Obendorf suggested that the theme of the meeting should be broad. In
terms of location, places suggested included Florida, California (San Diego or Monterrey), Iowa
and Missouri (St. Louis).
UC Davis overview
Dr. Michael Parella, Associate Dean for Agricultural Sciences, College of Agricultural and
Environmental Sciences (CA&ES), UC Davis, presented an overview of the California
Agriculture and the UC Davis campus. He described that agriculture represents a $30 billion
industry in the state. The UC Davis has about 30,000 students, 5,000 in the CA&ES. He pointed
out critical changes in budgets, appointments and programs for the three Ag agencies, the
College, Agricultural Experiment Station (AES) and Cooperative Extension (CE). One of the
major challenges is to revert the reduced visibility the University has with respect to the land
grand mission. He noted that Ag agencies need to improve the message to the clientele groups.
He also mentioned that the administration structure of CE is dysfunctional, with limited
interaction with the three Ag campuses, UC Davis, UC Berkeley and UC Riverside. He noted
that more undergraduate courses are needed in biology. To maintain excellence, several
departments, including Vegetable Crops, Environmental Horticulture and Pomology, would be
merged into a one Dept. of Plant Science.
UC Davis scientists gave presentations about their programs. Dr. Joe Di Tomaso, Weed
Scientist presented a talk on seed ecology and invasive species. Dr. Diana Beckles, Vegetable
Crops Dept, talked about starch biosynthesis during seed development, expanding on new
technologies used for global gene expression. Dr. Allen Van Deynze, Seed Biotechnology
Center, gave an overview of the Center, including the mission, new courses, outreach activities,
and status of current projects.
State Reports
Paul Beuselinck reported for Missouri, Daniel Cantliffe for Florida, Hiro Nonogaki for Oregon,
Allen Knapp for Iowa, and Marc Cohn for Louisiana. Marc Cohn also gave an update report on
the Seed Science Research noting that 33% of papers submitted are accepted and 33% sent back
for review. He stressed the importance to check for accuracy in the literature citations.
Meeting adjourned at 5:30. Dr. Kent Bradford, hosted a social and evening dinner at his house.
Saturday, January 17
The group met in the Plant Reproductive Biology Bldg., UC Davis at 9:00 am. State reports
continued. Daniel Leskovar reported for Texas, Alan Taylor (Geneva) for New York, Ralph
Obendorf (Ithaca) for New York, Miller McDonald for Ohio, Mitch McGrath for Michigan, and
Bruce Downie for Kentucky.
Alan Taylor reconvened the business meeting. Colorado State University was designated the site
for the 2005 W-1168 annual meeting. Kent Bradford nominated Mitch McGrath from Michigan
as secretary-elect. A motion was made, seconded and passed unanimously.
The meeting continued the discussion of W-1168 hosting a Seed Biology Conference. Ralph
Obendorf favored the idea, noting the conference will provide new information in a variety of
seed biology fronts. Daniel Cantliffe emphasized the importance to have a clear objective, but
was concerned about time conflicts, commitment, and funding to attend due to a variety of preplanned seed related conferences. Kent Bradford and Mitch McGrath discussed the possibility to
hold the conference in conjunction with the Plant Genome Meetings. Marc Cohn noted that this
could be an experimental approach to bring the message of ‘Traditional Biology’ into the
Genomics area. Alan Taylor also noted that there are already several meetings planned at the
national and international levels. Ralph Obendorf noted that about half of the present members
would not attend the international seed meetings in Australia or the Seed Dormancy workshop in
The Netherlands. Kent Bradford also noted that the previous conference held at Colorado State
University did not attract the international audience. He suggested that the focus could be related
to ‘Opportunities of Transitional Biology into Seed Biology’. An ad hoc committee of Mitch
McGrath, Marc Cohn and Kent Bradford, was initiated by Chair, Alan Taylor to work on W1168 hosting a Seed Biology Conference. The group agreed to inform Paul Rasmussen about
this discussion in order to get feedback from him.
The meeting was adjourned at 12:00 p.m.
Submitted by,
Daniel I. Leskovar
Secretary W-1168
RESOLUTION
Because of the high quality of presentations and discussions evident in the 2003 W-168 Regional
Technical Committee Meetings and whereas the participants were greatly enriched by the
experience to visit the outstanding facilities at the University of California Davis, be it resolved
that the following accolades be expressed:
WHEREAS appreciation is expressed to Michael Parella, Associate Dean for Agricultural
Sciences, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences (CA&ES), UC Davis for his
welcome to the UC Davis and description of it’s mission and outreach.
WHEREAS appreciation is extended to Kent Bradford and colleagues for his attention to local
detail.
WHEREAS we gratefully acknowledge the dinner and hospitality of Kent Bradford and his
family.
WHEREAS we extend our appreciation to Dick Heimsch as past administrative advisor for his
assistance, guidance and contributions to the success of W-168.
WHEREAS we welcome Paul Rasmussen as our new administrative advisor.
WHEREAS we extend our sincere appreciation to Alan Taylor for his adept leadership in
chairing the project rewrite, conducting the annual meeting, and the attention to detail.
WHEREAS we sincerely appreciate the outstanding service of Daniel Leskovar as Secretary.
WHEREAS we appreciate Mitch McGrath for his willingness to be nominated and elected as
Secretary Elect.
THEREFORE be it resolved that the 2003 Regional Technical Committee Meeting has been an
unqualified success by fostering the mutual exchange of ideas, improving our understanding of
seeds, providing the focus for future research and promoting the importance of seed biology in a
sustainable, environmentally compatible natural resource management and conservation
agroecosystem.